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I’ve been trying to spend some time in the garage each night. This week I figured out the brake side foot control. I was able to put the lathe to some good use and heavily modify a KZ ZZR1200 pedal and make a mount for it and the master cylinder. I like how well it matches the Biltwell Sanderson pegs. I’m no lightweight and i can jump up and down on these pegs and never have to worry about them bending or breaking. I also mounted the Chassis Design Company battery box. Anthony and the guys make it easy for the home builder. They include the mounting plate and even the bolts to mount the box.

The usual suspects, McGoo, Renato, Alex, and I have been knocking out the sheet metal on the KZ. I wish I had a brake, shear, and tig but an endless supply of cut off wheels, c clamps, hammers, a one inch thick steel fab table, a mig, and my retard strength is what we have. Now for mounting, welding, and more grinding. I figured out a color scheme finally along with foot controls and a few other things. Now to make it all.

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Bill Bryant, Biltwell Inc., just finished up this sportster project for himself. He had me modify the foam on one of their seats and sew him up a new cover in calfskin leather. Looks like a fun bike to ride. Thanks for the work and the support! You can check out more photos here

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I guess it’s time to do another bike. I have been thinking of one for a while now. Over the last few months everything came into place to get it going. I knew exactly how I wanted it to look in my head but getting the frame made is out of my fabrication abilities. Once I have a frame and front end I can do the rest here. Of course with the help of friends. To me that is the fun part of building. I enjoy making something and having McGoo, Alex, Renato, etc. tell me it sucks. I guess it’s the payback for me constantly doing it to them. While at the time it can be frustrating it makes for a much nicer bike in the end. This time I decided to go with something bigger for the engine. My friend Alex found a 1981 CHP KZ1000 sitting in disrepair. I snatched it up and came up with a plan. My friend Paul Cavallo, Spitfire Motorcycles, is doing the frame and front end for me. After shooting ideas back and forth with each other here is what we came up with.

If my life depended on it I couldn’t give you specs. Paul and the Mikes somehow translated my babbling and hand gestures into exactly what I had pictured in my head. All I know is the neck is 48 degrees, 10 over Spitfire girder, and it’s 9 1/2 feet long. 19 inch front and 16 inch rear HD 13 spoke wheels. Not sure how tall but the neck is LOW! We measured the trail one day when I was down there and it’s an easy to handle 5”. I was shooting for a digger, of course, on steroids. I think it may work. I love how wide the motor is compared to the frame.

After having both a girder and springer on my last two bikes It was an easy choice of what I would use. I know everyone likes springers but in my experience they don’t even come close to a girder. So with Spitfire Motorcycles making a super nice girder it was an easy choice. So here are a few pictures with the front end and wheels on it just to give you an idea.

There is no way I could do this without the help of Friends in and out of the industry. Some of them are Spitfire Motorcycles, Biltwell, Weisco, Wire Plus,and Spectro Oils. I’ll keep you updated with the progress and showcase everything I use on the build. I’ve always been sort of secretive when I had a build going but want to share this one step by step. I’ll be posting pictures here, Chopcult, and on my Facebook Page. I’m looking forward to evenings in the garage with friends figuring this thing out. Hopefully Alex, Renato, and McGoo are up for it also.